Daylight, I couldn't agree more. It's not pleasant to contemplate the possibility that the beauty you love may be compromised in that way. It's also not pleasant to be screwed over by one of your heroes, or to watch a person/artist you love turning into something they're not. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to hear what I've said, I don't need anyone to believe or agree with me and I don't expect anyone to like me for saying it. But I really felt it needed to be said.

As a small compensation for spreading the misery around, I leave you with Calming Manatee.

More than a little unhinged. If only Jonathan would let her guide him into becoming the person and the artist she says he should be. Wow. Get help, lady. I wish she would find an actor or writer to creepily obsess over instead of spreading libel and defamation here.

Fairly amazing she isn't being censored. But I guess her writing does speak for itself.

Wow, that really derailed awkwardly. Whether it's true or not, it really does come across as petty and mean to take so much time to make this point of trying to ... what, ~save~ fans that might ... like them too much? Agree with their career and musical choices too readily and loudly? "Trust me, I know better than you, the casual fan" ... it really does sound incredibly creepy in a NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW HIM LIKE I DO sort of way is all, which, given that this is the band's message board, is ... probably going to sound like that to most of the people who come here. If there's grievances to air, there's better and classier ways to do it than passive-aggressive statements and vague allusion to details of conversation that seem to be incredibly private. Beyond that, standing as this arbiter of, idk, over-ego boosting? Kind of smacks of a big sense of projection, as well as a self-importance that gnaws at the knees of these statements in a very pot-meet-kettle way -- not to mention has strains of that hideous hipster lament spread across youtube comments like (one of many) terrible cancers. Oh, no! This band has done something I don't like, it must be popularity getting to their heads! or my favorite fairly obscure band is being ruined by people actually listening to them, despite that being what they're aiming for? -- not that it's the same, but it kind of ... has that same feel, and fuck that noise, brosis. Shearwater is fantastic and deserves the love they've earned, and it's not up to any of us to police that, or its effects, or to dictate ~who they are~. Appreciation is not deification. We're all grown-ups here, and more than capable of coming to our own conclusions, in regards to both music and character.

I will most certainly agree with the idea of not putting your favorite musicians on pedestals. They're just people, no matter how sweetly they sing, or how wonderful they are at spinning musical images of the beautiful things in their heads. But to be quite honest, I don't really think we have a right to look inside an artist's personal life without express individual invitation (which, even if you had, we the casual message board viewer certainly do not) -- nor do I think that their personality or behavior really should color how one views what they produce. It's always disappointing when someone whose music/stage presence charms you turns out to be other than the person you wanted or expected them to be (or stay) -- but that's the price you pay for letting the common sense bug skip out and go play elsewhere for awhile. (Insert a moment of ironic amusement for the occasional OR song that touches on this, even.) Their motivations, and artistic processes are also their own; while we the fans have the option of being excited or disappointed by musical direction, the actual creation process isn't a thing we get to have much impact on. But really -- even if it is suddenly a matter of playing for the sake of appreciation or approval or a major label record deal and a time slot on VH1? Welp, that's fine, too. People have been doing things for the approval of others since people became a thing that were around on this ball of dirt and magic. Some people might feel cheated by ... compromised musical integrity in that sort of situation, I guess? But that's an internal and deeply personal construct, not a contract anyone who gets up on that stage has signed with any of us.

Admittedly, this is coming from someone who felt completely gutshot listening to these backup dudes play Island arc songs in the most un-Islands way possible last night. It was ... different. Not bad, but certainly unexpected, and I had a moment of heart-just-got-curb-stomped sadness that this is an era that's done and fairly well put away in the same sort of way as early SW is. Is it? I couldn't tell you, for all I know this is just a temp feel while Thor and Kim do their own things for a while -- I think I will call this line up Sharkwater/Sharkweek, haha. But I spent the next two songs after Castaways going oh nooooo, and then most of the two hour drive home trying to articulate to the friend I'd brought along (who has never seen them, and only heard what I played for her) what the difference was and why I left CB feeling emptied out and then crammed to the seams with love for the new and longing for the old. People change and grow. Their music does the same. And god, they all looked like they were happy up there, and the people there had a good time, so why not? As long as I like what they produce, I'm game. (But then again, I also really love OR, old and new, so ymmv.)

Right. Um, back to the original topic -- as an employee of a major retail chain that plays a surprising amount of indie music, if Shearwater were to find its way onto our speakers I would probably pee a little. In the ... good way, heh. Amusingly, I think most of my morning crew would probably recognize it, given how often I play their stuff when we're putting up signs.

I have only read tidbits of each post hear because I can barely stomach it. I tend to avoid becoming too invested in a band, no matter how much I love them (Shearwater being my running favorite for the past few years) because people - and by extension, bands - evolve, and change, and this is inevitably reflected in their music. Now, when a fan becomes enamored with a sound, it's likely (except in cases of truly sold out acts who never change their sound over a career) to a particular era that will (deservedly so) last only a while. To me, this is part of what makes each album or era special.

Now, I know a lot of times hardcore fans will be upset when a band changes their sound. Personally, I have always seen a band or musical act as a personal, artistic venture. We, as listeners, are the privileged ones who can share this experience with them, and really should have no say in the bands sound. (It's obvious that many bands will try to cater to fans in some for or another, which is great, but is also sort of a necessary evil, if you will, for surviving and making money in this industry. So once a band has to try and make money as a band, then they've already sold out, right?

Maybe that is a too don't-touch-the-artistic-genius viewpoint, but it's how I've always felt, as both a lover and creator of art and music.

As a matter of fact, I just saw my first Shearwater concert last night. They had played the night before, and drove all night to record a show in the morning and then drove to play for us that night. They were obviously exhausted (something that, as an architecture student I can appreciate all too well) and went on to play one of the most intense and wonderful shows I've seen. I was disappointed at first that Thor, Kim, et al weren't touring, but 'the replacements' were a great act, and put a lot of emotion into the show. Maybe I have nothing to compare it to, but it was perfectly enjoyable to me.

PS - Never meet your idol. They are ether nothing like you expected, or exactly like you would expect, and neither is a good thing.

This thread got....really weird. Like, really really weird. Seriously, what?This is kind of funny, but I've noticed this with other bands too. It happens, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sub Pop actually compiles things like this to send out to stores. Maybe their promotional company does. Who knows? I don't.But seriously, the hell guys? Amateur psychology and character assassination don't really have a place in a jokey thread about supermarket music.